![DENVER-AIR-QUALITY-POLLUTION-WILDFIRE-SMOKE-1](https://www.cpr.org/cdn-cgi/image/width=3840,quality=75,format=auto/https://wp-cpr.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2021/07/210714-DENVER-BAD-AIR-AQ-0001.jpg)
Money might not grow on trees. But “trees grow on money,” says Chris David. He’s with the nonprofit American Forests and helped create a new “Tree Equity Score.” The online tool assesses communities on their canopies-- down to the neighborhood. Metro Denver’s in there. Grand Junction. Colorado Springs. Pueblo. And how verdant a place is-- is related to health, crime, and wealth. Chris David says U.S. cities are about half a billion trees short.